We were a spinner short: Dravid

With two of his spinners sitting in prison on charges of spot-fixing, Rahul Dravid conceded his attack lacked a spinner on a tricky pitch in Hyderabad, where his team went down by 23 runs.

Chasing 137 to move up to second in the rankings, Rajasthan managed a mere 113/9 against Hyderabad, who were bolstered by a fine spell by leg-spinner Amit Mishra.

However, Dravid was happy with the intensity shown by his team after a dismal two days when the focus has been on three of their teammates being probed by the police on alleged murky deals.

"We showed some great intensity in the field.

"On this wicket, we were probably a spinner short. Faulkner was amazing. Credit to Hyderabad for the way they fought back. They have the bowlers for these conditions and Mishra was fantastic.

"We have struggled on slow wickets and we have possibly not had the resources. I hope that the wickets are better in the play-offs," Dravid said.

Hyderabad skipper Cameron White was not very happy despite the victory which has now kept them in the hunt for a slot in the play-offs. The top-order failed again and the side was only bailed out by Biplab Samantray (55) who hit his maiden fifty in the Indian T20 League.

"It was not smooth sailing. We fought hard and we held our nerve. We knew that 140 was a defendable target on this wicket. The guys bowled superbly and we fielded well. This was a must-win game for us and credit to the team for keeping calm."

Samantray was elated with his efforts with the bat and said he was happy that his knock helped the team win a crunch game.

"I am very happy to play with the top players in the team. I am extremely happy that my knock helped the team win. We know the wicket well and it was a slow wicket. I planned my innings accordingly. I do not prefer to bat in the lower-middle order but Rajasthan bowled well at the start," Samantray said.

Mishra who was adjudged Man-of-the-Match after returning figures of 4-0-8-2, said he tried to take wickets at regular intervals and has worked hard on his bowling since his injury.

"The team is doing very well. I would like to thank the Hyderabad crowd for their support. This has really galvanized us. The coach talks with me and I get a lot of confidence. I am working hard on my bowling since my injury. I am trying to take wickets at regular intervals and I bowl according to the situation."